“They’ll get it if you give it to me”: Tinkov was explained that there is no need to “crumple the loaf” on Potanin

Banker Oleg Tinkov claims that he sold his 35% of Tinkoff Bank to Vladimir Potanin for 3% of their real value under pressure from the Kremlin.

He stated this today to The New York Times, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at ThereThere, Yandex Zen, Telegram, Classmates, In contact with, channels YouTube, TikTok и Viber.
To subscribe to notifications in your browser, click here.

“It was a desperate sale, like a fire. The presidential administration contacted the bank's management and threatened to nationalize it. They said, "Your shareholder's application is not welcome and we will nationalize your bank unless he sells it and the owner changes and you change the name."

I couldn't discuss the price. I was like a hostage - you take what is offered to you. I couldn't negotiate. They forced me to sell it because of my statements. I sold it for pennies. As long as Putin is alive, I doubt that anything will change. I don't believe in the future of Russia. Most importantly, I am not ready to associate my brand and my name with a country that attacks its neighbors for no reason,” Tinkov said.

Tinkoff Bank denied this characterization of events and stated that “no threats were received against the bank’s management.”

“Oleg has not been in Moscow for many years, did not participate in the life of the company and was not involved in any business,” the bank said in a statement.

The former banker framed his interview tragically and did not tell reporters over the phone the place where he was located. He claims he hired the bodyguards after friends with connections to the Russian intelligence services told him he should fear for his life.

“Whether this means that on top of that they are going to kill me, I don’t know. I do not rule out that the Kremlin will kill me,” Tinkov said.

He connected all these horrors by blatantly insulting the Russian army on social networks in mid-April. The banker claims that many businessmen support him, but are afraid to say so.

“They understand that they are tied to the West, that they are part of the world market, and so on. They are quickly, quickly turning into Iran. But they don't like it. They want their children to spend their summer holidays in Sardinia. I realized that Russia as a country no longer exists. I thought Putin's regime was bad. But, of course, I had no idea that it would take on such catastrophic proportions,” said Tinkov.

At the same time, The New York Times recalls that Tinkov encountered problems in the West. He agreed to pay $507 million last year to settle a tax fraud case in the United States. In March, Britain included him in the sanctions list against the Russian business elite. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said at the time that all those on the list were “hired thugs and involved in murder.” It was after this that Tinkov began to speak out against Russia.

“I can just hear Stanislavsky screaming: I DON’T BELIEVE IT! A pathetic attempt to jump out of the sanctions list and nothing more. Failure,” TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov commented on Tinkov’s interview in his TG channel.

Economist Nikita Krichevsky doubts that the banker truthfully outlined the terms of the deal to sell his stake, as well as the estimate of its market value at $20 billion.

“Well, why bother so much, Olezha? You're not Trotsky. The market capitalization of your bank was $6,9 billion. Accordingly, your share weighed $2,4 billion. How much would 3% of $2,4 billion be? That's right: $72 million. How much did you get? $300 million. This is completely different money, isn’t it? Olezh, who, who is abroad and has no intention of returning, took you hostage there?

And why are you crushing a loaf of bread on Potanin - do you want him to be sanctioned too? We understand everything: the New York Times, the prospect of sanctions against you, Olezh, as a sponsor of the “bloody regime” and other Meta crap. But why expose your friends? They’ll get it, sure enough, they’ll get it,” Krichevsky wrote.

Investor and banker Sergei Vasiliev believes that Tinkov did not save himself from sanctions by selling his share, but on the contrary, he seriously set himself up.